Muhammad walked in and looked sideways at his sort of friend. “You upset him Tayyib.”

“So? I don’t have feelings? I hate feeling like the only sinner here, Muhammad.” He retorted in rapid fire Arabic.

“But no one is making you feel inadequate…it’s your own guilt… sometimes our guilt makes us think others are looking down at us ya.”

“Yeah…I need to hang around with people who are more like me not you holies who make me feel scummy… If only Harith didn’t force me to stay with you guys,damn him.” Tayyib said kicking the rickety kitchen cupboard and cursing Harith, Hasan’s elder brother who was married to his sister and who had insisted to his in laws that the boys all live together. Their families were overjoyed about that. Come on, he was free for the first time in his life and he Still couldn’t cut loose? Damn it. When would he get a chance to live it up?

The Prophet told us, “Always look at those above you for the deen and those below you for the dunya.” [Bukhāri]

“Hasan really cares about you Tayyib and he is something special, don’t be rude to him…I have no doubt he is a wali, a special friend of Allah. “ Muhammad tried to make him understand.

“Allah the Almighty has said: ‘Whosoever acts with enmity towards a closer servant of Mine (wali), I will indeed declare war against him. Nothing endears My servant to Me than doing of what I have made obligatory upon him to do. And My servant continues to draw nearer to Me with supererogatory (nawafil) prayers so that I shall love him. When I love him, I shall be his hearing with which he shall hear, his sight with which he shall see, his hands with which he shall hold, and his feet with which he shall walk. And if he asks (something) of Me, I shall surely give it to him, and if he takes refuge in Me, I shall certainly grant him it.’”

[Al-Bukhari]

“You know Tayyib,back when we were in high school, he used to deliver lectures on Islam and when we decided to go to Uni, he said he will not study Islamic Sciences as many were opting for but he chose Philosophy and Psychology because almost all the students in that faculty were atheists including the lecturers.

“I bet he was the student who asked unanswerable questions.”

Muhammad smiled wryly .“Yes he was… he wanted to oppose the arguments of the atheists… some of his professors used to hate him and failed him on purpose.”

Tayyib suddenly was paying more attention to Muhammad’s reminiscence of his friend who was probably a few metres away. “ Wow it takes some guts to be the lone voice amongst people against you.”

“that is called the power of Imaan…Tayyib …you know we were talking about leaving to join the Jihad..? The other night?

Tayyib’s mind wandered back to that night when Hasan walked into the den, to the sound of gunfire. Virtual gunfire.

“Tayyib…you’re still up…its 3am?”

“Yup, playing this computer game, what are you doing up.” Tayyib hit pause as his soldier was about to lock onto his target.

“It’s Thursday night and I didn’t complete my usual amount of Salawaath, so I got up earlier to finish it.”

“err okay…what are you doing now?”

“Just taking out my clothes for Jumuah and cutting my nails… sometimes we forget these great sunnats.” Hasan said in his usual serene manner while Tayyib gawked at him. Sure it was Soo normal for people to pull out clothes and groom up at 3am!

On one Friday, Rasulallah said: “O Muslims! Allah Ta’ala has made this day a day of Eid. So have a bath on this day, whoever has perfume should apply it, and use the Miswaak.“ (Ibn Majah)

“ya Tayyib there’s only 30 minutes till fajr time why don’t you stay up till then and then go to sleep?”

“Eish,wake me up later…I need the sleep or I wont manage at work tomorrow.”

“Tayyib Tayyib… you’re all ready to join the Jihad and you want to go and sort out the Russians but….”

“Yeah! They mustn’t mess with me! I’ll blow their heads off!” Tayyib rubbed his hands in anticipation as he mentally pictured himself replicating the games he played. Yes, he would take them down.

“Woah woah! Hold your horses! I think you can lay off the video games for a while, Jihad is not about violence. The very last stage of Jihad is physical combat…the first stage is Jihad of the nafs…battling your inner demons, your Jihad is throwing that warm blanket off you at Fajr time and getting out of the bed, get up and fight the feeling that prevents you from closeness to your Maker.”

“Not as if I don’t make qadhaa Hasan.”

“Qadhaa is for those who have a valid excuse like unconsciousness… start with Fajr…the two sunnats are more beloved to Allah than the whole world and all that it contains.”

“okay okay!! Does Harith know that there’s a plan to go to Afghanistan?”

“No he would probably tie us to the chair if he comes to know, we need to make a move before he gets back home.”

“How can you disobey your older brother ?You’re so pious” Tayyib asked, Cynicism and curiosity both coloring his voice.

“There is no obedience in this, Harith doesn’t want us to go because he thinks we’re wasting our lives by going for Jihad when I’m at the edge of a big break in my career, when dunya is everything to you,you forget about the akhirah.” Hasan’s words hung in the air like embroidered dreams… which gently floated about and settled on Tayyib’s soul once again as he remembered that night, suddenly he realised that Hasan was not made for this world… He was cut out for a higher purpose and although he always wished to be alone and free, suddenly being without these two… made life seem a little uncertain.

That warm summers night Muhammad knocked rapidly on Hasan’s door. He had received the fax on the way home from work.

“Hasan…start packing…We’re got a ticket booked for tomorrow afternoon. We need to get out Now! Harith is due tomorrow night!”

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Published by questofjustice

A free thinking mind is all that is needed to break the shackles of slavery.
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